‘Especially Dangerous’ to Children, Pregnant Women: Thousands of Chemicals Linked to Rising Rates of Cancer, Infertility and Obesity

By Alden Wicker

• Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which harm the human body’s regulation of hormones, have become ubiquitous in consumer products, food, water and soil, says a new report, leading to serious global health impacts.
• There are some 350,000 synthetic chemicals and polymers used worldwide, and thousands may be endocrine disruptors. Most were not studied for their human health effects before being marketed. Known and suspected endocrine disruptors are found in pesticides, plastic additives, cosmetics and waterproofing finishes.
• The new report examines four sources of endocrine-disrupting chemicals: plastics, pesticides, consumer products and per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS). Rising rates of cancer, infertility, and obesity are suspected to be at least partially attributable to the presence of endocrine disruptors in the human body.
• The Endocrine Society and International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), which co-authored the new report, are calling for legally binding global treaties to restrict and ban endocrine disruptor production and use.

A new report makes the strong case that a class of industrial chemicals called endocrine disruptors are behind many diseases on the rise globally. The report calls for stronger global regulations controlling their use and release into the environment.

A joint effort by the Endocrine Society and the IPEN, the report includes fresh research from the past decade documenting evidence that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) contribute to reproductive disorders, cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, neurological conditions, reduced immune function, chronic inflammation and other serious health conditions.

Research shows the chemicals to be especially dangerous to pregnant women and to children.

Endocrine disruptors interfere with natural human hormones and disrupt the smooth functioning of the endocrine system, which governs everything from fetal development and fertility to skin appearance, metabolism and immune function. Some endocrine-related disorders can lead to death.

More than 24% of human diseases and disorders globally are attributable to environmental factors such as pollutants and hazardous chemical exposure, the report says, and those environmental factors play a role in 80% of the deadliest diseases, including cancer and heart disease.

There are an estimated 350,000 manufactured chemicals and polymers used worldwide, and thousands of those may be endocrine disruptors. Most have not been studied for their effects on human health before being released onto the market.

Lagging EDC regulation, growing concern

Current global legislation on toxic chemical exposure is based on the traditional understanding that “the dose makes the poison.” That is, hazardous substances only impact health at high levels.

But IPEN science advisor Sara Brosché, Ph.D., countered that misperception in the organization’s press release:

“We know that even very low doses of endocrine disrupting chemicals can cause health problems and there may be no safe dose for exposure to EDCs.”

Regulation of endocrine disruptors around the globe is similarly lax and lagging behind current science.

The new report was released during the U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) meeting in Nairobi, where the UNEA is expected to welcome the newly adopted Global Framework on Chemicals and try to advance global action on highly hazardous pesticides.

Later this year both UNEP and the World Health Organization are expected to release an update to their 12-year-old report on State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.

The Endocrine Society, an organization of hormone research scientists and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions, and IPEN, which promotes policies to protect human health from the production, use and disposal of toxic substances, is not alone in sounding the alarm.

Medical societies including the American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, the U.K. Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and the International Conference on Children’s Health and Environment have all issued statements calling for more care and control of endocrine disruptors.

Endocrine disruptor exposure is ubiquitous

The new report examines four sources of endocrine-disrupting chemicals: plastics, pesticides, consumer products and PFAS.

Since the Endocrine Society’s last report on this topic in 2014, the scientific understanding of PFAS and their link to endocrine-related illness has grown enormously and now comprises its own section of the report.

PFAS is a class of chemicals used for stain and water-resistant coatings and has been found on children’s clothing and food packaging as well as in the drinking water of almost half of Americans.

The 2024 report also expands on evidence indicating that endocrine disruptors can lead to metabolic dysfunctions, including obesity…